East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust is committed to improving services by listening to you.
Our aim is to offer a compassionate and efficient service to all our patients and visitors. We welcome and value your comments, suggestions, concerns and complaints as they help us to continuously improve the quality of the service we provide.
We would like to assure all our patients, their relatives / carers and the public that we will never penalise a patient in any way or treat them differently as a result of a complaint / concern raised. We encourage complaints / concerns to be raised just as much as we would appreciate compliments, as this feedback enables us to provide improved services leading to positive experiences for our patients and their relatives / carers.
Meeting your needs and speaking your language
We can provide information in a number of languages and adapt the way we communicate with you depending on your needs, for example, we can use Braille, large print or audio formats.
The first steps
If you have any concerns about you or your relative's current or immediate care, please raise it with:
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Matron or
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Clinical Site Manager (out of hours, at weekends & Bank Holidays)
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Hospital Manager or
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the Trust’s Patient Experience Team (previously known as PALS).
They will be able to reassure you and help you find a resolution to your concerns.
The next step - The Patient Experience Team
The Patient Experience Team will help patients and their families with any questions they may have. They can be contacted by telephone, e-mail or in person between the hours of 10am - 4pm, Monday to Friday.
If you contact the Patient Experience Team via telephone, you may come through to an answer machine. We would like to reassure you that the calls are picked up within 24 hours Mon - Fri, and a member of the team will call you back within 24 hours of the message being left.
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If you prefer to write to us with details of your complaint the address to use is given below. However, if you call 01227 783145 or 01227 864314 first, we may be able to resolve your problem quickly once we understand what has happened.
Alternatively, you may send your letter to:
Patient Experience Team
First Floor Trust Offices,
Kent and Canterbury Hospital,
Ethelbert Road,
Canterbury,
Kent, CT1 3NG.
A complaint may be made by a patient, or by someone acting on behalf of the patient or person, with their consent. It is important to remember that when someone is making a complaint on behalf of a patient, the Trust cannot respond to the concern without the patient’s consent.
Normally, complaints should be made within 6 months of the event concerned, or within 6 months of the complainant becoming aware of the matter which is the subject of the complaint. Concerns will always be considered where new information has come to light or when it concerns a child's birth or immediate after care of the child. For further advice please contact the Patient Experience Team.
You may also raise your complaint by writing to the Chief Executive.
Once we receive your letter, a member of the Patient Experience Team will contact you and advise you of the best way to take your complaint forward to find a resolution.
Trust staff are committed to resolving issues that are raised locally, and listening to people’s concerns so we can make changes in practice where necessary. However, if complainants remain dissatisfied with the Trust’s response, they can ask the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman to review their complaint.
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ICAS can help if you feel you have not had the service you expect from the National Health Service (NHS) and want to complain but you are unsure about how to do so, or need someone to you support you through the process.
ICAS is free, independent and confidential.
Contact ICAS:
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Many patients want to write to say thank you or praise the service they have had in our hospitals. If you want to do so, please write to the Patient Experience Team at the address below who will pass your compliments on to those involved.
Patient Experience Team
First Floor Trust Offices,
Kent and Canterbury Hospital,
Ethelbert Road,
Canterbury,
Kent, CT1 3NG.
This feedback is important to both patients and staff as it helps to reassure patients and motivate staff. Therefore if at all possible please also provide your feedback to NHS Choices (links below) and Patient Opinion.
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